NBC cancelled The Black Donnelly’s, the CW cancelled 7th Heaven, FOX cancelled Wedding Bells, and ABC cancelled Six Degrees today:
The David E. Kelley’s dramedy “The Wedding Bells” has ceased production, but the network plans to air three more episodes. The Friday night drama most recently earned a mere 1.4 rating among adults 18 to 49.
ABC pulled “Six Degrees” last fall, then brought back the show as a March addition to Friday nights. Its last airing earned a 1.1 rating. Repeats of “Wife Swap” will air in its place.
NBC’s mob drama “Black Donnelly’s” filled a Monday night hole vacated by “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and has bled viewers nearly ever airing. Last night’s episode earned a 2.0 rating. “Donnelly’s” will be replaced by the reality series “The Wedding Crashers.”
The CW’s “7th Heaven” will finish its final season, with a finale to air May 13, but will not return this fall.
There’s no indication why four networks decided to cancel shows all on the same day, but NBC’s cancellation of The Black Donnelly’s really caught us off guard. NBC didn’t give this Irish mob drama a chance. Meanwhile, they’ve given Studio 60, a show with similar ratings, several chances this season.
Viewers must be getting tired of almost every new show being cancelled each season. Why bother trying out new shows if odds are networks will cancel them just as you’re starting to get into the show and it’s characters?
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has been struggling this season in ratings, making its unclear whether the show can stave off cancellation.
NBC and show creator Aaron Sorkin are hoping that adding more romance to the show will bring the ratings the drama needs to survive:
When the show returns Monday with a two-month run of new episodes, “we happen to be falling into a period where there’s a lot of romantic comedy on the show,” Sorkin said Tuesday during a meeting with television journalists on the show’s set at the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank.
“Hopefully that is going to bring some people who wouldn’t have otherwise been interested in the show,” he added.
Its a shame that such an entertaining show and talented cast hasn’t pulled in a better following thus far.
NBC showed it has confidence in Aaron Sorkin’s SNL-type drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip by ordering a full season of the show.
The network has ordered an additional nine episodes of the series, which has been struggling in its Monday night, 10 p.m. time slot. “Studio 60″ is averaging a 4.0 rating in adults 18-49 and 9.8 million viewers overall, according to Nielsen Media Research.
“I am pleased to show our support for this outstanding and ambitious effort,” said Kevin Reilly, president, NBC Entertainment. “From the start, they have delivered the superb show that we wanted. The critical support has been rock-solid and there is a passionate core audience. We can’t wait for what’s going to come in the remainder of the season.”
After so many rumors swirling around the fate of the show, it is a relief that NBC is willing to stand by a show that has great potential, just like The West Wing had.